A new study documenting the negative effects of California's drought on an endangered lizard in the San Joaquin Desert provides a glimpse into the potential effects of future droughts expected in California as a result of ...

The standard way to measure the impact of drought is by its economic effect. Last year, for example, the severity California's four-year drought was broadly characterized by an estimate that it would cost the state's economy ...

The native ferns that form a lush green understory in coastal redwood forests are well adapted to dry summers and periodic droughts, but California's current prolonged drought has taken a toll on them. A comprehensive study ...

Just last year, researchers were saying there was no end in sight for California's recent drought. During the past four years—the driest the state has been in a half-century— reservoirs and lake levels plummeted, leaves ...

Global warming increases the amount of moisture that evaporates from land and water, leading to drought in most parts of the world. In drier regions, evapotranspiration produces periods of drought that lowers the water level ...

Drought

A drought (or drouth [archaic]) is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and harm the local economy.

This global phenomenon has a widespread impact on agriculture. The United Nations estimates that an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation, and climate instability. Lengthy periods of drought have long been a key trigger for mass migration and played a key role in a number of ongoing migrations and other humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.